‘How is social cohesion gained and nurtured in a multifaith society?’ has been a major interest of mine since returning to Australia in the late 1980s. See my Religious Policy, Multi-faith Dialogue and Australian Values and it is one of the reasons I am attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne 3-9 December 2009.
The issue is being addressed by Compass presenter Geraldine Doogue with panellists who are attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions. The topic will be “Creating Social Cohesion in Village and City” and includes,
- How can we live together in a pluralistic society?
- How should we deal with refugees?
- And, how do we maintain social cohesion amid large movements of people with different belief systems?
The panellists are:
- Michael Melchior, Chief Rabbi of Norway, founder: Citizen’s Accord Forum between Jews and Arabs in Israel
- Dr Suhair Hassan Al-Qurashi, Dean of Dar Al-Hekma College for women in Jeddah
- Rev Tim Costello, CEO World Vision Australia
- Katherine Marshall, Executive Director World Faiths Development Dialogue and Advisor to the World Bank
- Anthony Padovano, Catholic Theologian and Professor of Literature and Philosophy, USA
- Melissa Brickell, Australian Aboriginal Partnerships, MacKillop Family Services
Questions can be submitted via the ABC Compass contact page – more info at Compass: Parliament of the World’s Religions. The program will screen on Compass on Sunday, 13 December, 2009.
Information regarding the Parliament of the World’s Religions here.
A view from the UK, “Britain is suffering because we have been too willing to forget what made us who we are” here.
